Let's talk Iran - Feb 24, 2021
Protesters take over IRGC base in SE Iran after Guards kill dozens of Baluch “fuel carriers”
Angry protesters took over an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) base today in a town in southeastern Iran after the Guards killed dozens of Baluch “fuel carriers” on Monday, social media videos showed. Clashes continued on Tuesday in different cities across the province with protesters taking over bases of security forces. LINK
Iran: Protests continue in Sistan and Baluchestan over killing of fuel porters by IRGC forces
The people of different cities in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province held protest rallies and strikes today, protesting the killing of fuel porters and demonstrators in the province’s Saravan county. The protests follow the killing of Baluch fuel porters by Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) forces on Monday at a border crossing near Saravan.
On Wednesday, the people of the Kourin Sarjangal region near Zahedan city protested despite the heavy presence of IRGC forces. Videos and photos posted on social media show heavy clashes between protesters and IRGC forces. LINK
NUCLEAR
Iranian dissidents urge Biden to keep up pressure on Tehran, say regime at ‘weakest point in history’
A report by The Organization of Iranian-American Communities (OIAC), which opposes the regime and calls for a democratic, secular government, warns that U.S.policy based on isolation or engagement "rely on blind faith that the regime will one day change its behavior, a supposition that is logically unfounded and evidentially unpersuasive."
"Those who want to deal with the Iranian regime must understand that the Iranian regime is desperate, weak, and highly isolated among its own population," OIAC’s Political Director, Dr. Majid Sadeghpour, said in a statement accompanying the report. LINK
Iran: Fake News or Regime’s New Tactic on Its Nuclear Program
Western policymakers should stop feeling compelled to treat Iran as if it is simultaneously victimized and at fault. All these issues are closely intertwined as aspects of the Iranian regime’s effort to use force projection as a safeguard for its grip on power.
Therefore, Tehran’s malign activities will persist in every area until it becomes clear that the consequence of that activity is complete economic and diplomatic isolation, and ultimately the collapse of the ruling system. LINK
North Korea and Iran teaming up again as US weighs Iran nuclear deal
Leaked UN report on North Korean sanctions reportedly states that Kim Jong Un's regime and Iran are working together... again, to develop long range ballistic missiles. Some experts say those missiles could hit the US mainland. LINK
South Korea pushes Biden to greenlight financial windfall for Iran
The situation has united some Republican and Democratic foreign policy experts who have served recent presidents. They are advising the new U.S. commander in chief to avoid giving Tehran a sense it can take control of other vessels in order to stuff its coffers with other frozen monies.
“If you give Iran access to an additional $7 billion, that is a dramatic change in their economic, macroeconomic picture that is going to be dramatic for inflation for the currency for their import challenges,” said Foundation for Defense of Democracies senior adviser Richard Goldberg. LINK
HUMAN RIGHTS
Judge threatens political prisoner with death penalty one year after his arrest
A year after his arrest, 29-year-old political prisoner Majid Khademi is still being held in uncertain conditions in Behbahan Prison. He is also denied access to contact with his family. For two months, he was under pressure, interrogation, and various tortures by the IRGC and intelligence agents. LINK
Jailed, Exiled Iranian Dervish Activists Accuse Iran’s Rulers of Murder
Jailed and exiled activists of Iran's Dervish community denounced the regime for killing a detained Dervish dissident whom was denied proper medical care for a serious neurological condition for months while in the custody of authorities. LINK
Tehran court hands down 5 years to student activist Leila Hosseinzadeh
Branch 28 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court issued a 5-year sentence for student activist Leila Hosseinzadeh and banned her for two years from activity on social media. LINK
Terzi: Time for Appeasing Iran Is Over
Former Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi has written an op-ed about the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran and how this has been routinely ignored by those in the West, leading to the mullahs feeling emboldened to commit more human rights abuses. LINK
TERRORISM
EU Facing Backlash Over Iran Policy
The appeasement policy on Iran was already pretty contentious but has recently been put in sharper focus, after the conviction of an Iranian diplomat for terrorism in Europe earlier this month. LINK
Rocket strikes on US in Iraq seen as 'message from Iran'
Renewed rocket attacks on US targets in Iraq show Iran-aligned factions are heaping pressure on the government while Tehran may be seeking leverage over America's new administration, analysts say.
Iraq, scarred by decades of war and insurgency, has been a strategic battleground for arch-foes the United States and Iran, both allies of Baghdad who remain sharply at odds over Iran's nuclear program. LINK